Belonging
by LethalCrown
Summary: This is the sequel to RuleBreakers, and I strongly advise that you read that story first. This is only the second in this series, with five books planned. This book centers on Nico in the RuleBreaker order; the things he learns and people and family that he meets. It's probably 99% OCs, and has a lot of cats. Rated T because of violence, death, and mentions of past miscarriage.


Nico walked behind Libby, followed by Zariah and Miriam, as she led them through what seemed like a maze of hallways, engraved with ancient Egyptian wall paintings. There were doors on either side every twenty feet, and their footsteps echoed through the stone corridors, the only sounds in the silence.

Finally there came to a black door, where Libby stopped and turned to him. "Even though you may become a Liberite at your choice, you'll be staying here with Zariah and Miriam for a while. These rooms are specifically retrofitted so that death magic _of any kind," _at this her eyes jumped to the two demigods behind him, "will be nullified once it passes from within those walls until your skills are further assessed."

"You lose control of your temper _once," _Zariah muttered.

Libby eyed her. "You have a record for losing your temper, _a lot_, and being really destructive when you do so. You destroyed a city, if you'll recall."

She threw up her hands. "Scorpio killed two thirds of Europe's population!"

"I don't particularly care." Libby examined her fingernails. "I have to prepare to lead the Circle, if you will continue introductions."

"Sure, Libby," Miriam said softly and pushed open the doors, gesturing for Nico to follow her in. Zariah entered behind him.

The room they entered was pretty large, a living room, sort of, with a kitchenette and five doors, one of which was black with a red and yellow patch, and one of which was red, orange, and yellow, while the last one was a nondescript shade of grey. He guessed that those were their rooms.

The walls were white, with black hieroglyphs that must've been the retrofitting that Libby had talked about. There were black couches against the walls and a fireplace, and in the center of the room on the ground there was a black marking that seemed to be some sort of black spiral or vortex, similar to the one he had seen in the center of the ring of statues, two weeks before. The center of the room was mostly open, and there were large dark wooden shelves along the walls.

Miriam pointed. "The middle door is your room. Whenever you exit, be careful. Zari and I are often sparring, and we tend to be pretty destructive. Don't worry about anyone else coming in here, Zari decided to trap the outer door. You can leave whenever, but try not to get lost. If you do get lost, try to sense life force and head for that. Anyone will give you directions for the most part. Any questions?"

"Yes," Nico said. "Why the shelves?"

Miriam laughed. "Winged almost always have birds as their sacred animals, and birds prefer to be up high. As the son of Mryori, whose sacred animal was a cat, yours will probably be too, so you'll probably like heights as well."

Nico was caught off guard. "You knew Mryori?"

"Both of us did." Zariah spoke up from where she sat on a couch. "We have been in this order a long time, and Mryori only left in, like, nineteen thirty. She was a Liberite, of course, and the two of us tended to be antisocial, as we still do, but we met in Council meetings, and as she was a Healer, she assisted Miriam when her wings were taken."

Miriam shuddered slightly and folded her wings tighter to her body in an almost unconscious movement. "Yes, Mryori was a good Healer, and kind. I have dabbled in the healing arts myself, and I know it takes great skill and caring to be as good as she was, balancing compassion with straightforwardness. She was an amazing physical Healer, yes, but she specialized in mental healing, particularly after loss. She was invaluable to our order, and there was really no replacement for her."

"What do you mean?" Nico asked. "Didn't Libertita take her place?"

Zariah brushed her hair back and tossed her head like she was annoyed. "Sit. This conversation will take a while."

Nico sat down. Zariah's tone didn't leave much room for arguments. Either you obeyed, or it promised mayhem, destruction, and a fairly large death count.

Miriam paced in front of him. "There was no replacement. Libertita and her brother began to lead the children of Libertas, and Libertita became the demigod counterpart for Anacaona. She leads the Liberites in battle and her brother deals as an ambassador to Miuhotep, a priest of Bastet, as well as many other followers of the ancient ways, and also serves as a priest and advisor to Isonar. Natasha more or less became a counselor and psychiatrist, and Yggdrasil, a daughter of Demeter, began to study physical healing. Her ideals and moral code were instated at the beginning of the time when demigods were accepted, but now the Liberites as a whole enforce them in her name."

She stopped in front of him. "Normally, Anacaona doesn't just accept any outcast demigod into our order. Outcast demigods from the two camps usually fit in with other outcasts. It is the Liberites and the ones who defy stereotypes who fail that rule repeatedly, and they actively seek our Order in the only way they can: leaving and striking out on their own. You understand yourself what it means to be an outcast, and you know of both camps, yet still you left, a sure sign of Liberite heritage. You know from our father's side great power, yet you have only scratched the surface of what you can achieve, taught properly. Anacaona senses within you power equal to or greater than Mryori. She thinks that you may ascend to the same position as your mother."

Nico stared at her in shock. "I know I have some power, but-,"

"Here in the order, innate and inherited power is augmented with Egyptian magic. Amulets can be made and used to further power. RuleBreakers, who have more power than any mortal demigod, can assist us." Miriam interrupted his excuse smoothly.

Zariah stood, stretching, wings fully extended, displaying their glorious long shining feathers proudly. She folded them back and walked towards the door. "I have patrol with Tybalt and Theo," she called over her shoulder.

"So Libby doesn't trust you alone with Tybalt?" Miriam asked.

"Miri, I don't trust myself with Tybalt. He's constantly teasing, and he had no idea how dangerous that is. I've nearly killed him upwards of forty times." She exited swiftly.


End file.
